User talk:JohnZombie
I would just like to state the reasons I appreciate the Mass Effect universe. The reasons why these games, more than any other, draw me in and keep me playing. First of all, I have never seen a game this story based. It's incredible how detailed and expansive these games can be. The distinct differences between the races and worlds is awe inspiring. This detail really creates a world you can believe and delve into unlike any other. This isn't like Star Trek where the different races are all still strangely humanoid. Creatures and insects, amphibians and thinking robots. All have varied governments, sexual habits, life-spans, strengths and weaknesses. It is impressive to behold. Not only that, but the planets themselves have their own attributes. Every planet you visit, whether you can land there or not, has detailed information about it. Atmosphere, average day length, and gravity based on Earth's own information allow the player to compare this expansive, fictional universe to what we know to be true. This allows for the player to potentially get drawn much further into the game, feeling as if this places could potentially exist. Secondly, the gift of changing the story. Of course I'm talking about the ability to choose a characters fate and that choice being reflected through the next installments. That is the break-through game play that first pulled me into Mass Effect. While some choices may seem mundane and rather pointless, the fact that you can choose at all is what separates these games from any other title. And who knows, maybe one of those "mundane and pointless" decisions in the first game that didn't seem to mean much in the second game, may very well come back to raise hell in the final installment. One can only hope. Lastly, the game play itself, while I don't believe ME1 had the greatest controls, it definitely had controls that were easy to use and not too incredible "buggy." ME2 had tighter controls, and still worked efficiently without drastically changing the control setup like some other titles have been known to do. However, there was still a big concern I had with the controls, which was the fact that there was so much stop and start. I mean having to hold the bumper to select a weapon or power for you or your squad was a major distraction, it pulled me out of the game. However, the reason this is being listed among reasons I love these games is because the problem is going to be rectified with the introduction of the Kinect. Being able to verbally give your squad commands will be epic to say the least, I think it will really give Mass Effect that final piece it has been missing to make a wholly perfect game. And as a side note, while yelling out what gun you want to switch may not seem to be the most though-through war strategy(you would never see John Maclane running up behind someone and yell out loud "SMG" to alert his enemies that a sub-machine gun was about to be their demise), however I think it will at least make the battles a lot more seamless and fun. I would like to thank Bioware and EA for working so hard to bring us not one, but three of the most incredible and addicting games I have ever played. And while March 6 may be the release of the final installment under this title, I hope that more games of this sytle are released, and that they can reach, if not pass, the standard that was set so high by Mass Effect. (JohnZombie 22:38, February 2, 2012 (UTC))